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The Elementary Program
Younger Elementary
6-9 Years Old
Teacher: Ellen Gore
| Our younger elementary guide, Ellen
Gore, holds an AMI primary diploma, and is in the process
of earning her elementary diploma. She has 11 years
experience in the Montessori classroom, and nearly
20 years experience working with primary and elementary
age children. She never thought she would be a teacher,
because she found regular school dreary and oppressive;
but she fell in love with the way Montessori education
lets the inner life of the child lead the way. |
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Older Elementary
9-12 Years Old
Teacher: Bob Anderson
| Bob Anderson is the senior member of
our staff. He became interested in teaching at the
school when his daughter attended several years ago.
He holds an undergraduate degree in biology, a M.A.
in Elementary Education, and is also A.M.I. Elementary
trained. His interests include guitar, music, science,
mathematics, etc. With such a broad background, kids
in the Older Elementary classroom always have a valuable
resource. |
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The Philosophy
Montessori education is based on the belief that
each person carries a love of learning within himself or herself,
which, given the proper environment, becomes a motivating force
to explore the world. A child who has been encouraged to explore
and allowed to self-direct from an early age will carry throughout
life the tendency to be an active, creative, and broadly focused
learner.
The Montessori Elementary classroom continues
the experience of individualized learning the children benefit
from
in the primary years. Respect for each child, for the process
of exploration, and for the classroom community is paramount.
Social development blossoms with the three-year age span, as the
spirit
of cooperation inherent in the life of the group encourages
children to create friendships that have greater depth.
The foundations of self-direction and innovation
laid in the primary program will serve the older child well. Children
who enter the program without the primary experience will receive
special attention in order to encourage the development of the
self-motivated learner within.
The Curriculum
The children are divided by age into the Younger
Elementary (6-9 years) and the Older Elementary (9-12 years)
classrooms. While there are some age-appropriate differences in
the curriculum
in each class, they both follow the same general format and approach.
The
child of 6 years and older moves into a period of greater abstraction
and active imagination. Having figured out
as a young child how the "basics" of living work, elementary
children long to expand their horizons. Through the Great Lessons,
stories of the earth and humanity, through exploration of more
abstract didactic materials and through direct experience of
the world via field study, the elementary program will call to
the
child to an inquisitive search for information about the world.
The Montessori approach accentuates the opportunity for deeper
study into the interdependency of life.
The Great Lessons include stories, which,
in the telling, encourage the children to think beyond and wonder. "The
Story of the Universe" tells of the ancient roots of the
cosmos. "The Coming of Life" traces the history of
life on earth from one-celled animals and plants to complex human
beings. "The Story of Communication in Signs" and "The
Story of Numbers" reveal the human inventions of written
language and enumeration as civilization becomes more complex.
These stories are a springboard from which children can launch
individual interest and study.
Throughout this study, the child is gaining in
literacy skills. These, and mathematics, including arithmetic,
algebraic concepts and geometry, will be built upon through work
with specialized material. The Montessori materials are designed
to be progressive, leading the child through continually advancing
skill levels. The teacher gives lessons to groups and to individuals
who become ready for that level of work, regardless of chronological
age. Thus the student can proceed at his or her own pace and
work up to his or her own skill level.
Art and music are an integral
part of the curriculum,
through hands on exploration, professional guests invited to
the classroom, and visits to museums and concerts. The children
also
explore the Spanish language. Physical education is an important
part of the student's development. Along with the free movement
allowed in the classroom and the outdoor extension, daily opportunity
for greater physical expression is available.
The classroom hums with the delighted expectancy
of exploration. Children at this age work individually as well
as in groups, across and within the multiple age spans. The classrooms
are beautiful spaces, orderly and full of unique cultural and natural
items. Furnishings are elementary age sized, and the children,
rather than the adults, are the focal point of the activity.
Going out
The children make forays into both the cultural
and the natural world on day and overnight trips. These trips
will most often evolve out of an individual or small group's
interest
in a particular subject: the children's interest in Monet may
take them to an art museum, a child interested in computers may
coordinate
a trip to the University computer department or a computer store.
A student with particular interest in birds may organize a bird-watching
expedition. We are fortunate to have the cultural and natural
resources near at hand.
The classroom emphasis on respect for
the individual
and the life of the group is augmented by community service.
Projects such as clean-up in the downtown area, visits to nursing
homes,
or coordinating a food drive stimulates the 6-12 year old's
interest in life in the greater community.
Evaluation
Evaluation of a student's progress is partially
inherent in the materials: successful completion of a task depends
on the child "getting" the concept and applying it. This
is a self-test which helps the child learn what he or she needs
in order to continue. Evaluation will also be made by student/teacher
conference, by written teacher evaluation given to the parents
in conference, and by standardized testing. |
